Past simple, continuous & perfect worksheet
Get printable practice and answer guidance, with related online activities ready when you want to continue.
How this practice helps you
- Print the questions without the answers beside them.
- Use the explained key to review your choices.
- Continue the same topic online when you are ready.
Name: ____________________ Date: ____________________
I ___ dinner when the phone rang.
was cooking / had cook / have cooked
My answer: ________________________________________
The phone ___ while I was studying.
ring / rang / had been ring
My answer: ________________________________________
I could not print because the printer ___ out of paper earlier.
had run / has run / runs
My answer: ________________________________________
At 8 p.m. yesterday, they ___ a film.
were watching / have watched / watch
My answer: ________________________________________
She closed the window, picked up her bag and ___.
leaves / left / has left
My answer: ________________________________________
I ___ home when I saw the accident.
walk / was walking / had walk
My answer: ________________________________________
She opened the door and ___ inside.
stepped / was step / had stepping
My answer: ________________________________________
The ground was wet because it ___ earlier.
has rained / will rain / had rained
My answer: ________________________________________
While we ___ dinner, the lights went out.
have / were having / had have
My answer: ________________________________________
Choose the sentence with a background action and a shorter event.
I was reading when the phone rang. / I read when the phone was ring. / I had reading when the phone rings.
My answer: ________________________________________
Answer key & explanations
- was cooking — Cooking was in progress when the call interrupted it.
- rang — Rang is the completed event interrupting the background activity.
- had run — Running out preceded the failed attempt to print.
- were watching — The past continuous describes activity at a specified past moment.
- left — The main events move forward in past simple.
- was walking — Past continuous gives the background action in progress when another event occurred.
- stepped — Past simple moves a narrative forward through completed events.
- had rained — Past perfect shows that the rain came before the past observation.
- were having — Past continuous describes the activity interrupted by the lights going out.
- I was reading when the phone rang. — Was reading sets the background; rang gives the shorter completed event.
Finished this worksheet?
Check the answer key, then practise the next related topic.
Next worksheet: Past perfect continuous exercises →Want more past simple, continuous & perfect practice?
The online topic pack has 40 exercises across four sets, including sentence work and original writing. This printable covers the ten-question warm-up.
Open all four practice sets →Skills to work on in this practice
- Set the scene with past continuous
- Move events forward with past simple
- Look further back with past perfect